Not a WRITER - Softcover

Preciado, Roxana

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1542488095 ISBN 13: 9781542488099

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2018

Synopsis

"With no family or a home, I alone, brick by brick Raw sweaty palms, all the while fighting my inner thoughts… I pushed, I shoved, until one day I had more than a shelter, I built myself a home" ... Graduated From a Coke Addict "Unwell, odd girl I'm too complex, not easy to understand But for you… easy I am" ... Dark Poetry "You fancy cocaine I offer you lines written with a pen" ... 5 Chamber Heart to Accommodate You "Foreign Cinderella, Imported goods, Damaged goods" ... One-way Ticket Resort "Survivor, Secretly Scared wounded warrior"... A Medal for Courage "And like a match I too hold great power I am not afraid Because I know within me burns Great Wild Fire" ... The Match What is poetry?

About this title

About the Author

Roxana Preciado is an indie author and artist recognized for her work as a poet and activist. Born in Jalisco, Mexico, she immigrated to the US at 4-years-old and has been writing poetry since the age of twelve. “Not a Fairytale” is Preciado’s first book which recounts her life through poetry encompassing the harsh realities of overcoming family tragedy, homelessness, and learning what life is like without an anchor to parent or country. “Not a Writer” is Preciado’s second book, exploring such topics as depression, suicide, sexuality, and immigration. Preciado is completing her graduate degree while working on her autobiography. She currently resides in Los Angeles, California, with her wife and son.

Review

"Not a WRITER is a collection of poetry by Roxana Preciado. Preciado writes in a free verse format; her words dash and weave across the page, reflecting her creative process and interior struggles. In her opening piece, The Trenches, the repeated refrain "She haunts me" culminates in a jarring conclusion as "I look to my left, a glimpse in the mirror/Her face/Haunting/She haunts me...Tomorrow I'll fight again/Mission clear/I will escape her...She is the never-ending battle, inside of me." In Graduated From a Coke Addict, Preciado explores the challenges faced as a teen coming out as a lesbian to widespread rejection, and her triumph over the grim future her detractors hoped for her. In The Anti-Female Campaign, she rejects classification by gender, asserting: "I refuse to be described by the label of 'femininity'/I am a human being/A person/A soul/An energy with no gender to keep it in place/I cannot accurately be described by a single word/I am not 'female'/I am so much more." In Girl in a Box and Becoming Woman, she continues discussing gender roles and her rejection of them in favor of being a whole, a complete being in herself. Preciado's images of love are sensual and immediate as in Bee: "I want to melt in your mouth/Mouth smooth, pink, pout/Kiss me I need you/Need you in me/In my life."

Roxana Preciado's collection of poetry, Not a WRITER, is searingly honest and brave. Her poems paint pictures of her life, her early years and her triumph over forces that seemed likely to overwhelm her in her youth. I was especially moved by her pieces that challenge gender roles and the societal expectations that come with them, seeing how she alternately sees herself as "a disturbed Cinderella" or maybe "just too bright." Her poems are lean and taut, with images that flash by and yield to their successors: "I feel too much/Dream too much/It pains me much." Not a WRITER is a remarkable autobiographical work that is lyrical, powerful and intense. It's most highly recommended."

-Reviewed By Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Edition details

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1542488095
• ISBN 13: 9781542488099
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96